Indian FM for talks with Pakistan on Gas pipeline
Pakistan Times Business & Commerce Desk

NEW DELHI (India): Amid growing entente in Indo-Pak ties, Indian External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh has asked Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to begin talks with his Pakistani counterpart on the proposed Iran-India natural gas pipeline.

However, the proposal is laced with a rider that a dialogue on an on-land gas pipeline through Pakistan would be contingent on Islamabad agreeing to an oil product pipeline from India to Pakistan, said a news report.

"We could recommend to Pakistan that we discuss the setting up of the pipeline from Panipat to Pakistan in the context of our discussions on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline since this would conform to the agreement by both sides to look at these issues in the larger context of expanding trade and economic relations between India and Pakistan," added the report.

Meanwhile Mani Shankar Aiyar, on his part, has initiated the process with a letter to Pakistan's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Amanullah Khan Jadoon, seeking time for bilateral discussions on the gas pipeline.

According to the letter, Ayer has asked his Pakistani counterpart to decide the venue in India or Pakistan and the dates for discussions on gas pipeline before the end of this year, added the report.●